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ICB, Sheltered Instruction, and the CALLA method
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As a teacher you are going to have to differentiate your methods to address the needs of every kind of student. Furthermore, it is important to be able to address the needs of all kinds of students, ranging from disabled students, disabled CLD students, gifted students, and general education students. Because of this I am dedicating this page to approaches and methods that apply to CLD students and a method that I feel covers every student: the CALLA method.
First, let's go back to the Integrated Content-Based (ICB) and Sheltered instruction methods that I mentioned on the CLD Instructional Approaches page. Both methods are malleable and allow a teacher to differentiate their instruction to cover the needs of all of their students. First, let's discuss the ICB method. According to the British Council (n.d.): "the focus of a CBI lesson is on the topic or subject matter. During the lesson students are focused on learning about something. This could be anything that interests them from a serious science subject to their favourite pop star or even a topical news story or film. They learn about this subject using the language they are trying to learn, rather than their native language, as a tool for developing knowledge and so they develop their linguistic ability in the target language. This is thought to be a more natural way of developing language ability and one that corresponds more to the way we originally learn our first language." (para. 3) Here is a Powerpoint presentation you can use to educate yourself further on the ICB method and apply it to your classes and a sample lesson plan:
Next, let's take a look at Sheltered instruction. Herrera and Murray (2011) state "Sheltered Method of Instruction is a method for combining philosophies, strategies, and techniques that appropriately recognize the many challenges that CLD students confront. At the same time, the method provides CLD students with instruction that is comprehensible, relevant, and motivating. [While it] does focus on making grade-level content comprehensible, it is more than content-based ESL because it explicitly emphasizes language and content objectives." (p. 271) This method of instruction has traditionally been successful in educating not only CLD learners because language objectives are directly integrated into the lessons and tasks. Sheltered instruction is generally used in two variations: Specifically designed academic instruction in English (SDAIE) and sheltered instruction observation protocol (SIOP). SIOP is usually chosen above SDAIE because, as Herrera and Murry (2011) state SIOP is the “most developed, explicated, and researched” (p. 273) For more information on SIOP please refer to the youtube videos below. Additionally, please look here for demonstrations of sheltered content lessons by State Education Resource Center.
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Finally, let's discuss the cognitive academic language learning approach (CALLA) method of instruction. In general, teachers are looking for ways to engage their students on a higher level while at the same time addressing the needs of everybody in their classes. Cognitive methods and learning strategies fit the bill because they, according to Herrera and Murry (2011), "place greater emphasis on the explicit teaching of higher-order thinking skills, the social/affective dynamics of learning, and the development of students' metacognitive awareness" (p. 324) The CALLA method is also useful because it focuses on higher order thinking skills while at the same time utilizing important vocabulary. Therefore, CLD students are able to be involved in regular lessons with the rest of the students and do not need to be included in pull out programs that might cause them social problems among their peers. Please refer to the Prezi presentation here for more information, and refer to this website for a wealth of information on the CALLA method and a number of activities and strategies.
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